On Jul 25, 2006, at 6:00 PM, keith_w wrote: >>> I just looked under the hood of a Prius. Now there's a complex >>> little >>> devil: I think there are more electronics under the hood than there >>> is engine by a factor of 10. >>> >>> Nice car to drive, however. > > >> A decent "jerk factor" as automotive engineers are fond of saying, >> but it certainly runs out of steam in a hurry. Not fun by my >> standards. > > You mean, the charge is too small to be practical? Runs out of > power too quickly? > > A 1.5 litre engine, of 76 hp, in a car weighing almost 2900 lb is > not going to > be much of a performer, but 580 miles on a tank of gas is not all > that bad! > Also, performance will depend on how it's geared. > > Interesting concept. > Know the price?
"Jerk factor"? Are they talking about themselves or the cars? ;-) I was never very interested in that. I prefer properly balanced, responsive power delivery. My Alfa Spider is only around 130-135 hp and weighs 2400 lbs, but it's responsive and fun to drive: it requires skill to get the most out of it, not a heavy foot. Not something to "jerk" me around. No wonder I've never been interested in American automobiles much. The Prius has two motors ... the 1.5L four cylinder gas motor at 76 hp and the electric motor at 67 hp. The drive system is designed to use them together: very low speeds entirely on the electric, switch to the gas for standard cruise and then add power with the electric on demand. The net is that you have 143 hp available for acceleration, which provides just fine performance over the road. The transmission is continuously-variable gearing so the end result, with the integrated drive of two motors, is extremely smooth power delivery, good acceleration and economical cruise. I took one for a test drive and was delighted with it. It went well and accelerated just fine, FAR better than some of the cars I've had in the past, and cruised quite comfortably at 75-85 mph with passing power to spare. It handles well, and has a very comfortable interior with lots of seating/storage space. 50 mpg around town and 45 over the road will save me over $150 a month ... I liked it enough that I've ordered one. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
